Michigan

It's always been Notre Dame or no one for the Big Ten

EAST LANSING -- The topic of Big Ten expansion is being discussed again, as if there's even a remote possibility of that happening as long as Notre Dame doesn't want to join the league.

It's long been a contention of mine, which I've expressed often and on occasion in this space, that after expansion talks between the Big Ten and Notre Dame fizzled back in 1999, the moritorium the presidents and chancellors put in place about even thinking about such plans was to be indefinite and to be broken only when N.D. finally sees the light.

So, while it's entertaining to see Penn State coach Joe Paterno pop off about why the Big Ten is lagging behind the other BCS conferences in Bob Hunter's column in the Columbus Dispatch:

... The Big Ten isn't going to settle for any school that No. 1, isn't iconic; No. 2, isn't located in South Bend; and No. 3 doesn't have the power to legitimize the Big Ten Network nationally while giving it an unprecedented ratings boost that translates into advertising revenue.

Nor, should it, no matter how much Joe Pa pouts and pokes out his bottom lip, and threatens to take his ball and go home because the conference doesn't want to do things his way.

Look at from the Big Ten's point of view. Let's say the league finally softens its stance and allows Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse or West Virginia in -- hmmm, to the greatest benefit of which team located in State College, Pa., by the way?

How stupid would the Big Ten look by knocking over the domino that opens up a spot in the Big East just when Notre Dame finally says, "By jove, we outta join a league. Gee, which one has an opening?"

The Big Ten simply can't afford to fill the 12 hole, even to an attractive Big 12 team like Nebraska, as long as Notre Dame is still in play because a 13-team Big Ten makes even less sense than an 11-team Big Ten should it go crazy with expansion. Do I hear 14?

Buyer's remorse could paralyze the conference if it split into two, six-team divisions and Notre Dame ended up joining Conference USA because, well, the Big Ten just wasn't available.

Delany has said in the past that if the Big Ten were to add a 12th team, that cleaving into two equal divisions with championship game at the end isn't a given. If the league didn't divide, it would almost have to play an 11-game, full round-robin to get the most out of having the Irish, wouldn't it? But, that wouldn't appeal to Notre Dame because it would cut down on its ability to play a national schedule.

While scheduling often is cited as a negative in Big Ten expansion, I think it's one of its greatest potential positives. It would create new and exciting possiblities, while doing nothing, really, to diminish time-honored rivalries.

The Knute-Woody Division would be made up of: Ohio State, Notre Dame, Indiana, Purdue, Iowa and Illinois.

Each team would play every team in its own division once, which means rivalries such as MSU-Michigan, Minnesota-Wisconsin, MSU-Penn State, Indiana-Purdue and Purdue-Notre Dame would be naturally preserved. That would account for five games.

The league would get to the eight-game level currently featured within the conference by playing three interdivisional games, some of which would have protected-rivalry status.

For example, Michigan would always play Ohio State, Michigan State would always play Notre Dame, Minnesota would always play Iowa, Northwestern would always play Illinois, Penn State would always play Indiana (OK, so the world isn't perfect).

That would leave room for four non-league opponents -- Penn State could play Pitt, Syracuse, West Virginia and Rutgers if it wanted to and Notre Dame could play Army, Navy, Southern Cal and Boston College/Air Force/Pitt/Stanford.

To think the last regular season game between U-M and OSU would lose its luster because the Big Ten championship game would still have to be played doesn't wash, in my opinion.

First of all, it seemed as lively as ever going into last season's game when the Wolverines had nothing to play for but pride. Michigan-MSU has been lopsided for years, but the rivarly is still strong on a regional basis and promises to gain traction as the Spartans continue to improve.

Furthermore, what if Ohio State or Michigan have to win that last game to get into the Big Ten championship? And, what if that game were to set up a rematch between the Buckeyes and Wolverines in Detroit's Ford Field or Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis two weeks later?

Or how about a Big Ten championship game between Michigan State and N.D.? Wisconsin-Iowa in Minneapolis would be fun. And if the Big Ten really wants to show off how tough it is, it could play its championship game in open-air NFL stadiums in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, Pittsburgh or Green Bay in early December.

It would be good to be a scalper that week.

With revenue veins becoming harder and harder for athletic departments to mine, a Big Ten championship game would be the mother lode, both from a gate and TV contract perspective.

Fact of the matter is, time is on the Big Ten's side as economic forces continue to batter athletic programs. Notre Dame plays most of its other sports in the Big East. Maybe Notre Dame rakes in enough NBC cash to pay for those softball and volleyball trips to South Florida, but how much longer can South Florida continue to justify the expense of playing at Notre Dame?

Somebody might care about Notre Dame at Villanova baseball, but personally, being from this part of the country, I'd rather watch the Irish nine play Minnesota's, on the Big Ten Network, no less.

Furthermore, Notre Dame football isn't what it used to be and the ho-hum factor of playing a national schedule geared only toward winning a national championship that is getting harder and harder to achieve seems to be growing. Settling for the Rose Bowl, or even the Capital One Bowl, as part of the Big Ten consortium when the BCS title game is contested by two non-Big Ten teams would seem like a better deal. From a financial standpoint, driving up the road to play in the Motor City Bowl -- while giving that game a shot of instant credibility -- makes more financial sense than the Aloha Bowl.

What worries me, on the Big Ten's behalf, is that when financial factors, especially from a non-revenue sport standpoint, kick in and Notre Dame decides it really is in its best interest to join a conference, it will see the Big Ten as being too difficult from a football standpoint.

In which case, it's already got a standing business and competition partnership with the Big East, whose champion gets an automatic BCS bid and its highest-ranked team last season was Cincinnati at No. 17. In the Big East, Notre Dame would be big fish in a small pond.

Then again, Notre Dame football versus a steady diet of Rutgers, UConn, South Florida, Cincinnati and Louisville doesn't quite cut it either.

Personally, I think it's only a matter of time before Notre Dame joins the Big Ten. I just hope Joe Pa is still around to see it happen.